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Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:52 pm
by waterdog
Craig, What kind of new class have you guys got up there? Walt

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:18 pm
by Craig W.
It's similar to Ultra but with major jet, turbo and blower limits.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 6:59 pm
by waterdog
Sounds like fun.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 7:09 pm
by Craig W.
I hope so. It should be affordable to run. Hopefully they've got the weights pretty close and I can be really competitive.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:04 pm
by BracketNova
Hopefully this isn't an incredibly dumb question...anything special for your rear shocks to be mounted upside down like that? I would assume not, but I am no shock guru. I'm going to try to get mine sitting lower and am looking at doing what you did and bring the shock through the trunk floor. Sure looks like they would be easier to adjust that way :thumb:

- Greg

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 8:23 am
by Craig W.
I think about any shock can be mounted upside down but it wouldn't hurt to check before buying. I know AFCOs can be.

Putting the heavy side of the shock on top helps reduce the unsprung weight.

Adjusting the shocks will be a lot easier now. The old QA1 double adjustables in the stock location were hard to get at. I'll still have to get under the car for the rebound adjustment (if my memory is correct) but the compression is the knob on top in the trunk.

I got the new ABS plastic panel made and mounted last week. Its for the MSD box and coil and mounts in the glove box location.

I also painted and mounted the chute mount. I had been waiting for warm weather to paint it outside but got tired of it not being finished and just shot the paint in the garage.

The driveshaft and AEM dyno shaft yoke is back in the car. I had to have it lengthened due to the shorter length of the 9" rearend.

I've decided to make another cam change. So a couple cams I have will be going to Mark at Bullet to evaluate and regrind one. I need to make more power on the motor itself so I'm thinking I need a grind that's a little closer to a N/A cam but OK for the 200 hp shot that I'll be limited to. The cam that I had done last fall is more suited to 350+ hp of nitrous.

I'm considering going to the big radial race in Memphis at the end of March for testing purposes. Maybe there is a class that would be cheap to enter and I can use Friday and Saturday as test sessions. Not sure that'll all work out but it would be fun if the car is ready.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 9:16 pm
by Craig W.
I finally got the Nova out for testing a couple weeks ago. It was close enough to done to go ahead and test. I still need to paint both bumpers but I don't think that'll slow me down.

The first shake down run went great. The motor seems much happier with the new cam and Quick Fuel carb. It went straight and stopped well, so I sprayed it the next pass. I had no idea what it would do on the old style M/T 275 radial and no progressive (class rules). It decided to try to go on the bumper. So just like old times. I can deal with that. I'd rather fight a wheelie than fight a car that won't hook. Even with having to pedal it down, it went 5.56@126. The mph is a tad low but I haven't fine tuned the timing and the plugs look just a tad rich. So there's a little more in it. Once the 60' gets down in the 1.20s, it'll run 5.40s. Hopefully I can find 5.30s before the year is over but it'll be tough with only a 200 shot.

I'm testing again tomorrow and the first OSCA race in Lyons, IN is on May 10th. Race season is here!

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 10:36 pm
by John_Heard
Really good to hear it's back in action once again!

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 11:58 pm
by Mike Peters
Craig W. wrote:I Hopefully I can find 5.30s before the year is over but it'll be tough with only a 200 shot.
What are the specific rules that limit you to a 200 shot? I assume it's jet size probably in a single stage plate. Is there a spec nitrous system you have to run?

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 7:35 am
by Craig W.
Thanks John. Its good to be back.

Mike, its a jet/turbo/blower limited class. Specifically, I'm limited to 53 jets in a cross plate, 26 jets in a fogger or a single 76 jet. I'm running a cross plate at this time. I should probably move to a fogger but the funds just aren't there at the moment. Maybe next winter. They say they'll either pin gage the jets or swap you jets at any time during the race.

I also had to pile in a bunch of weight. I've got every bit of weight I own in the car now and I'm about 7 lbs light. So I'll have to eat a big breakfast on race day :-) I had the car down to 2976 and now its up to 3243. Lots of fiberglass just sitting around the shop collecting dust :-(

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 7:52 am
by John_Heard
That has to suck working hard to get the weight out just to pile it back in. Sure it's nice to put it where you want it but still.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 8:14 am
by Craig W.
Yeah, it kind of sucks. But I've never had the luxury of being able to move weight around so maybe its not completely bad.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 5:47 pm
by Craig W.
The first OSCA race of the season was yesterday. The car worked well all day yesterday. I consistently got down the track in the mid to low 5.60s. Not quick enough though. Qualifed 3rd. Probably would have been 2nd if a timing error hadn't messed up my best pass of the day. I think it was in the 5.50s but it said I ran a 7.78@57mph. Nope.

Lost first round by .015 sec. Had him on the tree but had to pedal it a little to keep it off the bumper. But it was a fun day of racing.

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:49 am
by John_Heard
Sounds like a good first race, you got the radials figured out pretty quick too!

Re: Return of the Death Nova

Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 8:40 am
by Craig W.
I have Mark Menscer to thank for the great starting point on the rear shocks. I think that's a huge part of why the car is working well. I also got the weight 50/50 so that's a big help too. Plus I can now move that weight around since I had to add so much ballast to get up to weight.